Interview with professor Mohammed Louadi.

We had the honor to talk to one of our brilliant TBS professors, Pr. Mohammed Louadi. In this interview, you will know more about his background, his career and his thoughts.

Mr. Mohamed Louadi

Hello sir, it's an honor to talk with you in this fourth edition’s TBS-Torch interview. Can you tell us about your academic path and career?

My career first, okay. I graduated from the Higher Institute of Management known as ISG, after that I managed to be first in the school so I can get a presidential prize, which will allow me to get a scholarship to study in the United States. That's what happened, in fact. I realized many things about schooling, about programs and curricular, and did a Master of Science (MSc.) in Management Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After that I decided to continue my PhD, and I did that, at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.When I came back, I thought that I’ve got to fix my French language as I lost my skills in the USA so I opted for CANADA to heel my French and that didn't happen because in CANADA they have a problem with French. So taught for 3 years in a French-speaking university and then I moved to an English-speaking university, Concordia University of Montréal where I spend the next 3 years. In all I taught for 13 years in North America and then I moved to Dubai because I wanted to explore the east and the west. After Dubai, I went to Beirut at the University of Beirut, and for all of this I was teaching MIS. 

Sorry to interrupt you, can you give us a brief definition of MIS?

MIS is whatever lies between management and computers, so you have to do management, you have computers and if you apply computers to management you'll have better management. It's not computer science and it's not management science. MIS includes all of marketing, human resources... And since the 80's, I’m in the field. I've been around all types of computers such as Mainframe, Super Calculators and the small ones like these (the machine on the desk).After Beirut, I came to Tunis, at the Higher Institute of Management and I started teaching MIS again in French which is kind of funny and now at TBS I’m back to teach in English. Well, that's my career! 

When you first heard of TBS, how did you feel? 

I was very surprised, because it's a public university to which I was affiliated since I was at the ISG and certificated of the University of Tunis.And the University of Tunis decided to start an English-speaking program in a new building, a place I didn't knew, and, in fact, we were called to participate in this dream and we were very sceptical in the beginning because we didn't know what quality of students shall we expect and we didn't want to be part of an adventure at the initial part of the school. So all the returners from the USA were around the table: some of them agreed, some of them did not, I agreed because I just wanted to know how it's going to be like, so I give it a try and if it doesn't work I can always withdraw and I’ve been around since august 8th of 2009, that's when the whole thing started.And then, we didn't pay much attention about what it'll be like. And when it started I was positive and found myself in 400 students-lecture halls, and it was like a... mall, not like a university for the first day. So I was obliged to take decisions, either quit, because I don't want to play the game of teaching anybody that walks in, we want quality students. So we managed to get all students that don’t belong here because some of them thought that when they come to TBS they'll pass the exams with NO failure and that was wrong information and it's either you pass or you fail and many students does not know that. 

So, what's your opinion about our university and do you think it will take a long time before TBS gets a worldwide recognition like big universities such as STANFORD?

Oh, NO WAY we can compare TBS to Stanford, that's impossible. If you take the two best universities outside the United States, it took them more than 7years to have recognition. And in the USA there is about 2000 or 3000 universities and you just can’t take the top10 and compare them to Stanford, even American universities does not measure to Stanford.TBS will be decent school at the Mediterranean Sea. It’s already got recognition, it's taken seriously and that's thanks to the quality of students but there is no way to compare it to Stanford. 

As you taught all over the world, almost, can you tell us the main differences between foreign schools and TBS?

CULTURE! Culture of students! In other schools in the United States, students pay. So students will not miss classes and if the teacher comes late there will be a complaint, and if the teacher leaves the class before time, there will be a complaint to the dean. In Tunisia, whether TBS or private university, there is those bad habits of people coming late or not coming to class and they're expecting the teacher to repeat and even come to their home sometimes and it gets to the point that you may believe that. In the USA, everyone is agreeing to be in the specific place at the specific time, students as well as teachers. Here, some students come to school and they just go to the cafeteria while the course is going on, they miss class and they want to have good grades. That's special in Tunisia, you can't find this anywhere. So that's the main difference, Culture.

So, is that what you think about TBS students?

NO, that's what I think about Tunisian students because TBS does not escape Tunisian culture. We have this phenomenon at ISG, ESSEC and many other places.So after 5 years now, in Tunisia, and I’m still shocked by that. In the other side, I suppose that there is a surprise, by the technology that we have and the means that we have, students can be compared to other students and they can compete with foreign students, I sometimes find good students in Tunisia that I cannot find in other places and that's kind of surprising !

How about the facilities?

They're okay, average, we can do better, but sometimes things break and replacement is hard. 

Do you think that a BBA or an MBA would make a difference, first,  in the Tunisian job market then in the international one ?

Yes, in fact, in the international arena can be a target, even the French graduates  now are calling their degrees "Mastére" they call it "Masteur" or i don't know how they call it and they're moving to the English model. And soon, I think there will be MBAs, MScs and executive MBAs. And corporations can pay money to their managers to get an executive MBA from MSB, ESPRIT and these schools are offering that.

Okay, now, let's move to the economy which is facing hard moments. Do you think that students with future plans of owning their business could see their dreams come true?

Yes, it's happening already, we have financial crisis, economic crisis, people will die, others will be born. So those are cycles, normal cycles. I may say that the future can be a bit tougher than what it is. When we have a crisis, schools will be full and it's good for us.

How do you see the Tunisian revolution and its impact on the economical and political system?

Well, I was very moved by the revolution, not so by the impact of what happened after. So the elections, the turmoil of today, it's not so funny to watch, so the dream is over.

Looking back at when you were a college student, can you give us pieces of advice on how to get through it successfully?

SOCIAL LIFE! Don’t forget your social life; you've got to have a social life! BUT not at the expense of your studies. Tunisian students now don't know how to keep the balance between the two.

We want to know your opinion about our magazine the TBS Torch!

I like it very much, I read two articles yesterday and I was surprised with the English level and I said this will keep up! Because I remember we did the same thing back in time and we couldn't get more than number 3, the 3rd edition was the last. I liked the covers very much; kids now see Steve Jobs as an example, the "vote" also is good and I’m not sure about the last one because a lot of students don't know exactly what is going on in the world.

One last thing, why did you choose to come back to Tunisia?

My kids, because I saw a lot of things, the boy had a horse tail and that's not the kind of man that I want my son to be. And the girl walks around half naked, and I said I don’t want my daughter to be like that. And the funny thing is that when she came back to Tunisia, she was speaking like a foreigner!

So, thank you for your precious time. It’s an honor to make this interview with you, sir.

Thank you for having such good questions. I hope that will be useful.

                                              -interview by SARAH AOUINI and adnen ben haj yahiya- 

                                                               -with the presence of yasser ben  hmouda-

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